Condenser cards



Jame 2, 1967 P. DILLIES CONDENSER CARDS 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 2, 1964 jam 2%, 197 P. DILLIES CONDENSER CARDS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 P. DILLIES CONDENSER lame 20, 1967 Filed Oct. 2, 1964 United States Patent 3,325,867 CONDENSER CARDS Pierre Diilies, Croix, Nord, France, assignor to Etablissements Lemaire & Dillies, Roubaix, Nord, France, a French societe anonyme Filed Oct. 2, 1964, Ser. No. 401,198 Claims priority, application France, Oct. 10, 1963, 950,152 5 Claims. (Cl. 19-151) The present invention relates to condenser cards which are each essentially constituted by the association of a carding machine proper with a web divider, that is to say an apparatus by which the card web is divided into strips and rubbed into the form of a large number of condensed slivers or slubbings, then wound onto bobbins after delivery from the rubbing machine.

When performing the different servicing and maintenance operations in machines of conventional design, and particularly when stripping the card wires, the web divider has to be moved away from the carding machine and is mounted on rails for this purpose. Such rails are a hindrance and a complication and, in addition, a web divider is a very heavy machine which cannot readily be moved. Moreover, the tendencies of modern technique are such that the weight of these machines has continuously increased for a number of reasons such as, for example, the need for greater card widths, greater widths of rubbers, the replacement of simple reciprocating mechanisms for producing lateral motion of the rubbers by more cumbersome and bulky mechanisms, and the presence of ancillary equipment such as suction fans for false slivers.

Furthermore, the movements of the different elements of the web divider must be synchronized with those of the carding machine if it is desired to ensure correct processing of the card web and of the web strips progressively as the web is delivered from the carding machine. Such a synchronization is not achieved Without difiiculty on account of the mobility of the web divider.

Finally, the divider tapes are fairly difficult of access, with the result that provision is frequently made' for pits beneath these machines, which also constitutes a source of danger and is a cause of accidents.

The aim of this invention is to provide a condenser card which is not attended by the above-mentioned disadvantages of conventional machines.

To this end, in accordance with the invention, the web divider is stationarily fixed at a certain distance away from'the delivery of the doifer of the carding machine and a retractable conveyor system connects the delivery,

end of the carding machine to the feed end of the web Y divider.

By virtue of this particular arrangement, the servicing staff have very good-visibility and can easily clean the top and bottom divider tapes during operation without being hindered by the usual frames. The same applies in the case of the stripping staff who can readily gain access to the do-ffer of the carding machine after having first retracted the conveyor. In addition, all the advantages attached to a machine which is permanently installed in a fixed location are also conferred on the web divider; and the connection of the compressed-air ducts for returning false slivers to the hopper feeder, for example, is greatly facilitated.

In addition, ease of access between the dotfer of the carding machine and the web divider permits of convenient cleaning of the divider cylinders and divider tapes and objectionable pits can thus be dispensed with.

The invention is also concerned with forms of construction which comprise at least one of the following characteristic features:

(a) The retractable conveyor system consists of a traveling band or apron.

(b) The conveyor apron is mounted on-two rolls whose shafts are journalled in a frame, one side of said conveyor frame being supported on the frame of the web divider and preferably on the shaft of the corresponding roll of said apron whilst the opposite side of said conveyor frame is supported on the frame of the carding unit.

(c) The frame which supports the conveyor apron is pivotally mounted on one of the two end shafts of said conveyor, preferably the shaft which is located on .the same side as the web divider.

(d) The shaft of one of the two conveyor rolls, preferably at the delivery end of said conveyor, rests on two fork-shaped brackets which have upwardly-directed openings and which are secured to the frame of the machine.

(e) The frame of the machine, preferably on the same side as the web divider, i-s'provided with means for retaining the frame of the apron conveyor in a substantially vertical retracted positio (f) The means for driving the apron conveyor comprise a first toothed wheel which is integral with the end shaft about which said conveyor is pivotally mounted so as to be retracted, said first toothed wheel being engaged with a second toothed wheel which is rotatably mounted in a support forming part of the frame of the machine and preferably the frame of the web divider and which is in turn driven from a kinematic chain which is synchronized with the components of the carding unit.

(g) The components of the web divider as well as the apron conveyor are driven from the carding machine by means of a motion transmission system consisting of a horizontal drive shaft which is located in the vicinity of ground level.

(h) That end of the conveyor frame which is located at the delivery end of the carding unit rests on supports which are adjustable for height. I

(i) The divider frame which is made integral with the frame of the rubbing unit by means of a conventional coupling which can readily be released is mounted on horizontal rails placed between the delivery end of the carding unit and the stationary frame of the rubbing unit.

A clearer understanding of the invention will be gained from a perusal of the following description and from a study of the accompanying drawings in which one form of embodiment of an improved condenser card according to the invention is shown by way-of example and not in any limiting sense. I

In these drawings:

FIG. 1 is a profile view of the condenser card as a whole,

FIG. 2 is a corresponding plan view, and

FIG. 3 is a view which is similar to FIG. 1 but in which the web divider has been removed to a distance away from the rubbing unit.

The condenser card which has been shown diagrammatically in the drawings essentially comprises four sections, namely a carding section 1, a web-divider section 2, a rubbing section 3, and a conveyor system 4 whereby the. web of textile fibers is transferred from the delivery end of the carding section 1 to the feed end of the webdivider section 2.

The carding section 1 is of any suitable type of conventional design and will not be describedin detail in this context. There has simply been shown the carding frame 6 which is anchored to the floor, the dofier 7 and dotfer comb 8.

As far as the web-divider section 2 and rubbing section 3 are concerned, a departure is made from customary practice. In conventional designs, these two machines are moved together along roller tracks so as to be withdrawn from the delivery end of the carding machine for the purpose of carrying out the different operations of starting up, cleaning, maintenance or repair. In the present invention, the rubbing section 3 is anchored to the floor at a suitable distance from the delivery end of the carding section whereas the web-divider section 2, which can readily be separated from the rubbing section as is in any case common practice, is carried by wheels 11 on two rails 12 so that said divider-section may thus be moved away from the rubbing section. This operation is carried out with much greater ease than that which involves the displacement of the entire rubbing section and divider assembly since the web divider alone is of much smaller bulk, much lighter in weight, and carries a considerably smaller number of accessories and couplings of various kinds.

The web-divider section 2 can be moved along rails by means of a suitable drive system such as a manual drive which preferably comprises a step-down gearing system wherein the last gear-Wheel 14 is engaged with a rack 15 which is fixed on each side of the machine in parallel relation to the corresponding rail 12.

The coupling of the divider frame with the frame of the rubbing unit 3 is carried out by any suitable means represented diagrammatically by bolts 18 which are passed through corresponding flanges of both frames.

The device for transferring the web from the delivery end of the carding section to the feed end of the divider section consists of an apron 21 which is made, for ex ample, of leather or of fabric and which is mounted on two parallel rolls 23, 24, the shafts 25, 26 of which are respectively journalled in two end-plates 28, 29 forming the two short sides of a frame wherein the two long sides 31, 32 are formed by two spacer members which join the two end-plates together and pass through the interior of said apron.

Externally of the end-plates 28 and 29, the shaft 25 is fitted with ball bearings which are flush-mounted in two brackets 35, 36 each having the shape of a fork with an upwardly-directed opening and made integral with the frame of the web-divider section 2.

It istherefore the shaft 25 which carries the frame on the same side as the web-divider section; on the other side, said frame is brought to bear on two adjustable stops as represented diagrammatically by two vertical screws 41, 42 mounted in two brackets 43, 44 which are respectively made integral with the frame 6 of the carding section 1. By moving the two screws either upwards or downwards, it is possible to adjust with accuracy the height of the apron at the delivery end of the carding section for the purpose of receiving the card web 49.

By virtue of the arrangement as hereinabove described, it is therefore possible, without any need for disassembly, to cause the conveyor-frame together with its apron to perform a pivotal motion about the shaft 25 and to bring this latter, for example, into the position 21a shown in chain-dotted lines in FIG. 1 wherein said conveyor is slightly inclined towards the divider frame and applied against an abutment 51 of said frame in such a manner as to be already maintained in this retracted position solely under the action of gravity. A safety hook such as the hook 52 which is placed on each side of the machine can be engaged over the shaft 25.

If it is desired to free the divider section completely, the shaft 25 is lifted out of its fork-shaped brackets 35, 36 and then suspended together with its apron by inserting its ball-bearings in fork-shaped brackets 54 which are integral with the frame 6 of the carding section as shown at 25b in FIG. 1, in which case the apron 21 occupies position 2112.

The apron then occupies a vertical position against the carding unit, with the result that the divider section is wholly accessible.

In the example described, the rubbing section 3 is made up of four stories, the two rubbers of the first story being designated by the reference numerals 61a, 61b, the rubbers of the second story being designated as 62a, 62b, those of the third story as 63a, 63b, and those of the fourth story as 64a, 64b.

The reference numerals 71 and 72 designate the two main rolls of the web divider and the references 73, 74 designate the two feed rolls whilst the references 75, 76

designate the two delivery rolls. By means of rolls 81, 82,

83 and 84, the web strips are respectively conveyed to the rubbers of the four stories of the rubbing section.

The periodic lateral motion of the cylinders of the rubbing section 3 is carried out by means of any suitable system of conventional design such as, for example, a system of eccentrics which is generally designated by the reference 91 and driven by an electric motor which permits free access to the divider tapes. This system of eccentrics could be driven by any suitable means such as, for example, a belt drive from the carding section 1.

The movements of the apron 21 of the conveyor system 4, of the web-divider section 2 and of the rubbing section or unit 3 are effected in dependence on the movement of the carding section, either by means of a suitable synchronization system or by means of a direct drive system such as the system which is illustrated in the drawings and which consists of a pulley 101 carried by the shaft 102 of the carding-section drum 103, a driving belt 104 which is passed over the pulley 101 and over another pulley 105, a pinion 106 which. is integral with the pulley 105 and which also serves to drive the carding-section doffer 7 through the intermediary of a gear train 107, 108, 109, 110, the said gear-wheel 106 being followed, in the kinematic chain which is contemplated, by another gear-wheel 114 which is in mesh with the gear-wheel 106, and by a gear-wheel 115, which is in mesh with the gear-wheel 114, by a bevel pinion 116 which is integral with the gearwheel 115, a bevel pinion 117 which is in mesh with the bevel pinion 116 and mounted on one extremity of a horizontal drive shaft 118 which is placed level with the ground between the carding section and the rubbing section, a bevel pinion 121 which is fixed on the other extremity of the drive shaft 118, a bevel pinion 122 which is in mesh with the bevel pinion 121, a gear-wheel 123 which is integral with the bevel pinion 122, a gear-wheel 124 which is in mesh with the gear-wheel 123, a gear-wheeel 125 which is in mesh with the gear-wheel 124, a gearwheel 126 which is in mesh with the gear-wheel 125, a gear-wheel 127 which is integral with the gear-wheel 126 and in mesh with a gear-wheel 128 which is integral with the main bottom cylinder 72 of the web divider, the other top cylinder 71 being driven by a gear-wheel engaged with another gear-wheel which is integral with the bottom cylinder 72, the two gear-Wheels last mentioned being invisible in FIG. 1 since they coincide with the circumferences which represent the two cylinders 71 and 72.

The toothed cylinders 73, 74 of the divider-section are driven by a gear-wheel 135. Said gear-wheel is in mesh with the gear-wheel which is integral with the main cylinder 71 and is also in mesh with a gear-wheel which is integral with the cylinder 73 and which has the same pitch diameter as this latter, with the result that the gearwheel last mentioned is also not visible in FIG. 1. The cylinder 74 is driven from the cylinder 73 by means of a gear-wheel which also has the same diameter as said cylinder.

The bottom cylinders 61a, 62a, of the first two stories of the rubbing section are driven by two gear-wheels 129, 129a in mesh with the gear-wheel 124; similarly, the two bottom cylinders 63a, 64a of the two upper stories of the rubbing section are driven by .two gear-wheels 129b, 1290 in mesh with a gear-wheel 124a which is in turn driven from the gear-wheel 126 by means of a gear-wheel 125a.

The apron 21 of the conveyor 4 is driven from the bottom feed cylinder 74 of the web-divider section by means of a gear-wheel 138 which is in mesh on the one hand with the gear-wheel which is integral with the bottom feed cylinder 74 of the divider section and, on the other hand, with a gear-wheel 139 which is integral with the apron-conveyor shaft 25.

All the components of the web-divider section, of the rubbing section and of the conveyor system are therefore driven in synchronism with the movement of the carding section from which the web 49 of textile fibers is delivered.

There has additionally been shown in the drawings a centrifugal fan 151, the delivery outlet 152 of which is connected to the hopper feeder in order to return to this latter the false slivers which have been sucked through two ducts 153, 154 which lead from the rubbing section and terminate at the suction intake of said fan.

There has also been shown at 158a, 158b, 158a and 158d the conventional bobbins onto which are wound the slivers which are delivered respectively from the rubbers of the four stories of the rubbing section 3.

The operation of the condenser card as hereinbefore described is as follows:

In the operating position, the different components of the machine, and in particular the apron 21, occupy the respective positions which are shown in FIG. 1. Accordingly, the web-divider section 2 is secured against the rubbing section 3 and the apron 21 is in the lowered position and located in a substantially horizontal plane between the delivery end of the carding section and the feed end of the web-divider section. The card web 49 which is detached from the doffer 7 by the doffer comb 8 is deposited naturally on the feed end of the apron conveyor 21 which carries the web between the two feed cylinders 73, 74 of the web-divider section and from this point passes between the two large cylinders 71, 72 so as to be divided into a certain number of strips which are distributed throughout the four stories of the rubbing section 3, then delivered from said rubbing section and wound onto the bobbins 158a, 158b, 158C, 158d respectively. Inasmuch as the movements of the conveyor, of the web-divider section and of the rubbing section are derived from the motion of the carding section through the intermediary of the kinematic chain which has been described earlier, both the web and the web strips are thus accurately transferred throughout each stage of processing.

It is made possible by means of screws 41, 42 to regulate with a high degree of accuracy the height of the feed end of the conveyor apron 21 on which the web 49 delivered from the carding section is intended to be delicately deposited under the action of its own weight.

When it is required to gain access to the doffer, for example with a view to stripping this latter, it is merely necessary to raise the apron conveyor 21, this being achieved by causing the conveyor frame to pivot about the axis of its shaft 25 as mounted in the brackets 35, 36 which are integral with the divider frame in such a manner that the said conveyor frame is thus applied against the abutments 51 of the said divider frame after having passed slightly beyond the vertical position so that said conveyor frame has a tendency to bear of its own accord against said abutments and, in order to ensure a greater degree of safety, the hooks 52 are then placed in position for the purpose of securing the feed end of the apron conveyor which is now located in the top position thereof.

If it is found necessary to free the feed end of the divider section 2 to a complete extent, the conveyor can be moved out of the way by engaging the conveyor shaft 25 in position 21b, in the brackets 54 which are located at the delivery end of the carding section. Furthermore, when it is desired to have access to the feed end of the rubbing section, this latter can be completely freed by displacing the divider section 2 along its rails 12 by means of the rack and pinion system 14, 15 after having slackened off the fixing means which have been diagrammatically represented by bolts 18. The divider section 2 can thus be moved into position 2a as shown in FIG. 3. In this position, freedom of access is provided around the entire divider section for the purpose of carrying out repair or maintenance work. It is also possible to pass around the entire rubbing section without being hindered as in the case of conventional machines.

The advantages which are offered by such an arrangement have already been set forth in the earlier part of this description and need not therefore be dwelt upon further.

It will be understood that this invention is not limited to the form of embodiment as hereinbefore described and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and that a large number of modifications can be made therein without consequently departing either from the scope or the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a condenser card system, in combination, a card, a rubbing unit stationan'ly mounted spaced from a delivery side of said card, a web-divider intermediate said card and said rubbing unit movable away from said rubbing unit in a direction toward said delivery side of said card and to an operating position next to said rubbing unit, and a retractable conveyor between said web-divider and said card operationally linking said delivery side of said card to said web-divider when said web-divider is in said operating position.

2. In a condenser card system according to claim 1 in which said conveyor comprises end rolls, a driven conveyor belt over said end rolls, frame means on said webdivider mounting one of said end rolls and frame means on said card mounting the other of said end rolls.

3. In a condenser card system according to claim 1, a driving system comprising a drive shaft for driving said conveyor and said web-divider from said card.

4. In a condenser card system according to claim 2, including means driving said conveyor belt comprising a shaft on which said end roll mounted on said webdivider is mounted, said frame means on said web-divider pivotal'ly mounting said shaft for rotation thereof and for pivotally swinging said conveyor to a position linking said web-divider and said delivery side of said card and to a retracted position upwardly away from said card, and means driving said shaft from said card.

5. In a condenser card system according to claim 4, in which said means driving said shaft comprises a chain drive.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,143,344 8/1964 Miller et al 198-123 FOREIGN PATENTS 158,706 9/ 1954 Australia.

277,215 7/1914 Germany.

287,736 10/ 1915 Germany.

530,455 7/1931 Germany.

762,806 12/ 1956 Great Britain.

475,682 11/1952 Italy.

MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner. I. C, WADDEY, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN A CONDENSER CARD SYSTEM, IN COMBINATION, A CARD, A RUBBING UNIT STATIONARILY MOUNTED SPACED FROM A DELIVERY SIDE OF SAID CARD, A WEB-DIVIDER INTERMEDIATE SAID CARD AND SAID RUBBING UNIT MOVABLE AWAY FROM SAID RUBBING UNIT IN A DIRECTION TOWARD SAID DELIVERY SIDE OF SAID CARD AND TO AN OPERATING POSITION NEXT TO SAID RUBBING UNIT, AND A RETRACTABLE CONVEYOR BETWEEN SAID WEB-DIVIDER AND SAID CARD OPERATIONALLY LINKING SAID DELIVERY SIDE OF SAID CARD TO SAID WEB-DIVIDER WHEN SAID WEB-DIVIDER IS IN SAID OPEARATION POSITION. 